Perry's Origin
by Boolia
Summary: Hello, Perry here! I'm going to tell you readers more of my backstory of my life as an Aussie. I'll tell you of my father, my BFs, our swim class, more of that dreaded Anaconda, Percival, and his two goonies, and more! Prequal to 'Secret Files of Agent P'
1. Prologue

Perry's Origin 

Prologue

"Thank you for coming Agent P." My boss told me from the driver's seat. I sat in the backseat of his black "spy" car. We were driving to the International Danville Airport to pick up Carl who has been on his three week Australian trip with his college class. I looked out the window as we passed by the outdoor scenery.

"You know Carl would be thrilled to see you after all that time," He continued as I kept watching the scenery roll by. "Sorry I have to take you away from your family just for this Agent P, but you'll be great company for me as I wait for Carl's flight to come in. Again, hope you can forgive me."

I looked up front. No _problem_ (I was being sarcastic)! Phineas and Ferb just made a giant water park in their backyard, I much rather wait forwhat might be _hours_ at the airport watching you sleep, then be with my loving owners! I rolled my eyes as I focused my attention on the outside world once again.

We drove on in silence as we neared the airport. We then saw a sign that read "No pets allowed".

"_Darn it_!" He said. I sighed. I wondered how he was _ever_ going to sneak me in. We then saw a Clothes R Us store across the street.

"Agent P," He said. "How will you like it if we make an unplanned stop so you can pose as my long lost nephew Kenneth?"

I looked up front, and sighed. Somehow, I knew this would come up. It seemed whenever I go out in public, in order to keep my title, I'll have to be a master of disguise. Hopefully, I won't look too ridiculous.

I looked _ridiculous!_ MM made me wear a dark green striped shirt, a blonde wig, navy blue pants, and even bumblebee striped Pikie shoes.

Why does mostly every time when humans dress me (espcially Monogram and Carl) I wind up looking ridiculously stupid? Why can't I choose what I want to wear? I picked a hip outfit at the mall (and I looked _cool_, even a total stranger I never met before said so) when I had to snatch away that Pizzazium Infinionite from my nemesis's daughter, Vanessa (and oddly enough Candace, Stacy, Baljeet, Buford and Ferb. Why they wanted it, I don't know. I imagine Ferb wanted it to impress Vanessa or something. I think he secretly has some feelings towards her. I don't know).

The worst was when I had to wear that pet cone. That still haunts me to this very day (I hope I don't have to wear it again).

I also didn't like having to wear girly clothes, like the outfit Vanessa forced me to wear, and that 'Parris' disguise when I went to Phineas's school (What can I say? I was in the girl's locker room. I had to wear _something)_!

Any who, I looked down at myself in my new outfit, then glared at my boss.

"Oh, _relax_ Agent P!" He told me. "You look fine! We won't be there long; you can take it off on the drive home from the airport." I rolled my eyes, and sighed. Okay, _whatever _you say; let's get this over with!

When we were at the airport, we went inside. It was crowded with humans and their suitcases and luggage everywhere you turned.  
We looked at the screen above that told us which flight was on time, or is going to be delayed, or even cancelled. We waited until it changed, and looked for Flight 596, Carl's plane

Our eyes widened as we saw it. It was delayed by three hours!

"_Well_," My boss began. "Why go home when we're coming right back? We can just sit, and relax until he comes. We have plenty of time before his flight comes in. _Come on Agent P!"_ He began to walk away towards the correct gate number. I gave Monogram an irritated look, and plucked my shirt. You're kidding me_, right_? You expect me to wear _this_ for a whole three _hours?_

Monogram noticed my displeasurment on my face.

"Look Agent P," He said. "I know you don't want to wear this, but we're not going back. Just wear it until after we pick up Carl, okay?"

I sighed, and shrugged. Whatever.

We walked to the gate where Carl's plane was going to land, then went to explore around the airport.

We ate at a restaurant. Monogram ordered a Grilled Cheese, I ordered fish (Monogram showed me the menu, and I pointed to what I wanted, and told the cashier guy)

After we ordered, we took our meals and ate in silence.

Next we went to the bookstore. My boss mostly looked in the Newspaper as I looked in the books. We even went to the kiddie playground in the building. I didn't want to but Monogram urged me into it, and a little kid around six or seven, kept pestering me to play with him (He really liked my tail), so I finally gave in. My boss talked to the kid's mom as I played with the kids.

When we went back to the gate, we still had another hour and a half to wait. We sat down in our seats.

"Well Agent P," Monogram told me. "We could play 20 questions while we wait. I'll start." He then looked at me as I gave him a look.

"Ohh _right_!" He realized. "Animal, can't talk. Number between 1- 100 game?" I nodded. Alright, something to kill the time. I'm game.

We played that game for ten minutes before my boss fell fast asleep. He couldn't guess my number in five minutes, he was getting tired, so he fell asleep right as he was guessing a number (if you're wondering, the number was six.)

I poked him with my finger a few times to try to wake him up, and chattered right in his ear. But no matter what I tried, he was completely out of it.

I sighed, and went back to sit in my seat. I looked at the clock, still an hour and twenty minutes to wait. I looked forewords, and sighed. What can I do to kill the time?

I looked out the glass window. In over an hour, Carl would be back from Australia. I looked forewords again.

_Awe, Australia_, my home country and continent; the country where I was born.

_But wait a minute_! You readers don't know of my origin, do you? Well, you know how I became the greatest agent the O.W.C.A has ever known, but _not _my origin; not where I came from! You know my siblings, my mom, and my two best friends, Matt and Mac. But you don't know my dad, how I met my friends, my swim class, how I met those no good anacondas, and their leader Percival (Personally, I like Dr. D better as my nemesis. He's _ten _times more stupid, clumsy, and much easier to defeat and outsmart then Percival is), or any other background information about me.

_That's it!_ How about I tell you the story of how it all happened; that'll make you guys happy, and it'll kill a huge amount of time! So just sit back and relax, while I tell you where it all began.

It happened years ago in the great outback. That's right; I'm an Aussie.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Our house was a burrow facing a very deep swamp that stretches for miles. Our burrow may look small, but it was big on the inside, more like a den really. It may not be as comfortable compared to a human's home like Phineas and Ferb's, where I live today, but back then, it was the one place we called home. Field grass grew everywhere in our habitat.

When I hatched out of my egg, my parents, like all parents, loved me deeply. However, when my sisters, and younger brother was born, l was jealous; especially when Meredith came into our lives. Sure, she was really cute at first, but as days passed, she became a royal pain!

Everyday, she would ask questions nonstop. She would've done it for hours, if I didn't shush her up all the time.

I know that I'm supposed to be happy that I have little brother and sisters to play with, and watch over. I know that I'm supposed to love them as much as my parents do (Which I do), but deep down I couldn't stop wondering; do my parents still love me like they had before, when I was their only son? Since I'm the oldest, I know I have to be their role model, responsible, and look after my siblings, but still, I couldn't stop wondering. Do they still love me, or do they love my siblings more?

As more days passed, Mom said to all of us that we had to start attending Mss. Aqua's swim class on that very morning.

"_Why_?" Meredith wanted to know. Mom and Dad looked at her. "Why do we have to attend Mss. Aqua's swim class? Can't we stay with you?" She then looked down at the grass, looking sad. "Were we…_bad_?"

"_No, baby, no!"_ Mom quickly told her. "It's not that at all." My younger sister then perked up.

"Then, what is it?"

_"Yeah Mom_!" Andy added. "Why are we going?"

_"Yeah, yeah, yeah_!" The twins chimed together. "Why are we? Tell us!"

"You are attending because in order to survive in life, you need to learn how to swim, and swim well." Mom explained. "Since we're platypuses, we need to swim for food, and to get away from our predators. You need this class to learn how to swim, and learn how to swim fast from our enemies." I finally had the courage to ask a question.

"Couldn't we just learn from you guys?" I asked. They looked at me. "I mean, _why_ do we have to go to a swim class, if we can just learn from you? It doesn't really make any sense."

"We'll be too busy." Mom told us. My siblings and I all shared confused glances.

_"Why?"_ Meredith questioned. "Busy doing _what_?"

"Oh, nothing darling, just stuff."

"What _kind _of stuff?"

"Well, I'll be gathering our food is all."

"And what will Dad be doing?" Andy asked.

"Oh, his job."

"What _kind_ of job?" Abby wanted to know.

"Just his job."

"What _kind_ of job?" Meredith repeated the question. Mom and Dad both glanced at each other.

_"Well?"_

_"Come on_, you're be late for your first day."

"But, you _didn't_ tell us, what kind of job…?"

_"Come on Mates_!" Dad told us, ignoring Meredith. "We don't want to be late now. Come on now; _chop, chop_!"

My Dad, as he called it, was a "true" Assie. He loved living in Australia, just like our mother, and so do we.

We followed our parents. Though it was temping, we dared not to ask another question, fearing it'll only be the same answer; with no answer at all. So, we just followed without another word.

At swim class, there were a ton of platypuses around all of our ages. As the teacher was talking to Mom and Dad, my siblings and I went to try to make some friends.

My brother and sisters made friends right away; me, not so much. I looked, and looked, but I couldn't seem to find anybody that would take interest in me. Why it is so hard for me to make friends, yet all of my siblings already had friends just five minutes since we arrived?

I was about to give up hope when all of a sudden, a platypus rammed into me.

_"I got_ it!" He yelled. A brown pointy ball zoomed towards us, and he caught it.

_Oof!_ We both fell down to the ground. The other platypus stood up.

_"Hey!"_ He yelled at me. "Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry." I told him. He then smiled.

_"No, no_!" He said. "It's my fault; here, let me help you up."

"Uh…_thanks_!" I offered my hand, and he helped me to my feet. "Thank you; I appreciate it." He began playing with the ball, tossing it back and fourth from one hand to the next.

"Oh _shucks;_ _no problem_! By the way, I'm Cody! What's yours?"

"I'm Perry." I answered. The boy then stopped passing to himself. Cody then called for his friend.

_"Hey Malcolm_!" He called. "Come here, and meet Perry!"

A second platypus that was taller then Cody and I, came to our side. He offered me his hand, we shook.

_"Hi there_!" He greeted. "You new?"

"Oh yeah." I said. "My parents have just enrolled my brother, sisters, and I; we start today."

"_Cool_!" Malcolm just said. "That's nice; then." He then pointed to the teacher, who was wearing a whistle around her neck, and had a clipboard in her hands. I looked to where he was pointing to.

"That's Coach." He informed me. "We're training for the championship. We still have a few days to practice, and some swim meets in between; when the time comes near the championships, she'll push us hard, getting us ready, so don't get her pissed; you'll not like the results, trust me! Oh, and we're the Mighty Platypuses.

_"Okay_!" I said, about to change the subject. I looked at them. "So what were you two doing before Cody bumped into me?"

"Oh, we were playing American Football with this ball that we found at the Human kiddy playground" He informed me. He showed me the brown pointed ball.

"How do you play?" I asked.

_"Easy_! You just placed your fingers on the white rigidity part, and throw it!" He did just that, and pretended to throw it. He turned back to me. "See? Easy; now you try!" He gave it to me. I grabbed it, got my fingers in the right spots, positioned myself to throw, and looked at him.

_"Go on_!" He urged. "It's fun!"

I decided to trust him, and threw the ball as hard as I could. It went sailing into the trees, and plopped onto the ground next to Abby and her new friends. They looked up at us. We all smiled guiltily.

_"Oops_!" Cody said, and then he yelled to them. "Hey, we need that back!" Abby grabbed the ball, and threw it at us.

Cody grabbed it where it landed.

"Thanks!" He yelled back.

My sister then gave me a glaring look like I done something wrong. I shrugged and mouthed the words "what did I do?"

She looked at me that way for a minute, then went right back to gabbing with her friends.

"Forget about them Perry." Malcolm told me. "They're just girls, thinking we're not "_mature_" enough. Pay them no mind."

"But one of them's my sister." I told them.

"Then she'll turn into one of them I guess. It's what girls do." I still was puzzled as I looked at my sister, then back at them.

_"Malcolm in the middle_!" Cody yelled, about to throw the ball at me. "Go long Perry!"

_"What_?" I questioned.

"Go somewhere so I can pass it to you!"

_"Okay_!" I ran to where he directed me to, turned around as he threw it, and caught it on the fly before Malcolm could get to it.

"You know," Cody said. "they should make a moving picture show on that, _Malcolm in the Middle_."

"_What _moving picture show?" I asked.

"You know Perry; the moving picture boxes that humans watch!"

_"O-key_!" I said, not really getting what he meant.

"_Go long_!" He threw it to me again, and I caught it.

The Coach whistled us in, and we all stopped at what we were doing, and came in. The Coach introduced herself, told us to get to know the others on our spare time, and then the class began. She also told us our team name, which I already knew from Malcolm.

_"So,"_ Our Mom said to us at dinner. "How did my babies like your first day at Swim Class? Did you make friends?"

"_Yeah!_" We all said at once.

"I really like my friends Yvonne and Caddie." Meredith told her.

_"Splendid_!" Mom complimented. "I love to see that my babies are making friends."

"Friends are real important." Dad added. "Whenever you're in a tight spot, they always come through. They're good to have." Dad then leaned into Mom.

"And sometimes they turn into something even better then a friend."

"_Oh, Mike_!" Mom said. "Not in front of the kids!"

"Kids, look away!" Then Mom and Dad kissed each other! My siblings and I looked in disgust.

_"Eeck!"_ Meredith said disgusted. "Lost my appetite, night!" She dashed towards the burrow,

"_Me too_!" Abby said, following our sister.

"_Me three_!" Amy added, following them. Andy just stood up, excused himself, and went into the burrow.

I finished my fish, stood up, said good night to my parents, and went after my brother and sister.

I heard Mom and Dad laugh, and make kissy noises again.

The next few days at swim class, we all practiced for our first Swim Meet of the season.

On the day before our first Meet, Coach told us to all do our best, don't quit, it won't matter if we lose or win, and just have fun.

At supper that evening, Meredith announced the big event.

"Are you two going to come?" She asked our parents.

_"Yeah_!" Abby added, looking at both of them. "Are you?"

"_Of course_!" Mom replied. "I want to see my babies, heck yeah! I'll be there!"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Dad said. My siblings and I all exchanged smiles, and then continued eating.

At our Swim Meet, we all warmed up before the Meet vs. the Stinging Jellyfish started. I scanned the audience to see if our parents came. Mom did, but Dad didn't. Where was he? The Meet was starting, and no sights of him.

I wasn't sure I could do this without Dad supporting us, but Cody told me to forget about it, and concentrate. I looked at my siblings; they all felt what I felt, and their friends just told them to focus.

At the end of the Meet, Mom congratulated us on our victory, we said good bye to our friends, and headed home.

At home, we saw Dad.

"Did you win?" He wanted to know.

_"Yeah!"_ Meredith told him. Dad pumped his fists in the air.

_"That's my mates_!" He cheered. "_Congrats_!"

"But you weren't there. Where were you?" Dad put his hands down, and frowned.

"_Yeah_!" Abby said. "You said you'll come. Where were you?"

_"Uh_…." Dad hesitated. "I was busy."

"Busy doing _what?"_

_"Uh_…just super busy. I'm sorry, but I'll try to make it next time_, okay_?" We all looked unsure. We knew he was hiding something from us, but _what?_

We went to bed. I tried to go to sleep, but my eyes remained open. The same thoughts since after the Meet kept streaming through my head.

Where was Dad? Why didn't he witness our first victory with the Mighty Platypuses with Mom?

Then what he told us came back to me; he was busy. _Busy?_ Busy doing _what?_ What's so dang important that he missed our Swim Meet?

These things kept bugging me since we came home. These were my questions, with no answers.

_Oh, well!_ I thought. It's only one Meet that he missed, no biggie! He'll come to the next one.

With that thought stuck in my brain, I closed my eyes, and went to sleep.

Note: Perry didn't meet with Matt and Mac until later. Same goes for his brother and sisters.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I awoke the next morning when I felt a tickle on my bill. I flinched, snorted, and woke up to see Meredith's tail in my face. I sneezed a little. Meredith giggled as she withdrew it, and backed away, giving me my space.

_"Wake up Perry_!" She chanted excitedly as she pranced about. My other brother and sisters were beside her all waiting for me. "Wake up big brother; wake up, wake up, _wake up_!"

I yawned, streatched, and got up on all fours.

"What is this all about?" I asked in a tired tone.

"Mom and Dad are going to teach us how to hunt." Abby answered. I looked at her. "So we can survive on our own."

"The time will come Perry." Amy continued. I looked at her. "Where we leave Mom and Dad, and need to be able to hunt by ourselves. It's vital information Perry, we need it or we won't survive. Also since, we are swimming fast; Mom and Dad said we are ready to learn."

_"Okay."_ I said after a yawn. "Let's do this thing!"

We all went out of the burrow where Mom and Dad were waiting. Mom and Dad were talking to each other, when they saw us, they turned and smiled.

"Well, well, well!" My dad said. "Are we ready to go mates?" We all gave our parents smiles on our faces.

_"You bet Dad_!" Meredith said. "I'm all _pumped _up!"

"Yeah, so am I." Abby added.

_"Me too_." Amy said as well. "And Andy and Perry, we are all psyched Dad; we can't wait to get started."

"_That's_ the determination I want to hear!" Dad said. "Bravo! Now, let's go!"

We were about to go, Ralf, the Rufus Fantail, who is Dad's friend, flew up. He screeched to get our attention. We all looked up at him.

"_Hey Ralf!"_ Meredith called up to him. 'Guess what? Mom and Dad are going to teach us how to hunt! Isn't that wonderful?"

_"Terrific_!" Ralf called back. Then he looked at Dad. "Mike, we need to talk!"

"_Be right there_!" Dad shouted to him. Ralf went to land somewhere. Dad faced us.

"Be right back!" He told us, and went off to wherever Ralf flew to.

"Where's Ralf taking Dad?" Meredith asked. "Will he be back?"

"Don't worry." Mom assured her. "Dad will be right back." We all looked at the patch of grasses where Dad disappeared.

A couple of minutes later, Dad came back.

_"Dad!"_ Meredith greeted. "Are you ready to…"

"_Can't!_" Dad said. "I have to go."

"Where to?" Amy asked.

"Can I come?" Meredith wanted to know. Dad shook his head.

"_'Fraid not!"_ He replied. My youngest sister looked down disappointed. She then looked back up as she realized something.

"But you _promised_ you'd come."

"I'll make it up to you later, okay? But right now, I got to split! _Love you all_!" He quick kissed all of us, and left with Ralf. "_See ya!"_

We all gave confused looks to Mom.

_"Mom_?" Meredith questioned. "Where's Dad going?" Mom shrugged.

"Stuff." She answered.

"What kind of stuff?"

"Just stuff."

"But what _kind_ of stuff?"

_"Shhh!_ Not now baby."

"You know Mom," Abby pointed out. "'stuff' _is_ kind of vague."

"I know dear, don't worry about it okay? Let's go hunting!" My siblings and I all looked at each other, still confused.

"_Come on!" _Mom urged. "Dad's fine; it'll be fun, don't worry!"

We all gave confused looks at one another once again, and we all followed Mom without another word.

While we were hunting, Meredith asked the same question that she'd asked Mom.

"Hey Perry, where's Dad? Where did he go? Is he all right? How come he's not with us?" I shrugged.

"Don't know," I started. "Don't know, don't know, and don't know."

"Wow! That's a _lot_ of 'don't knows!"

I agreed. It _was_ a lot! I wish I knew those answers sis, I wish I knew.

We all listened to what Mom was going to say next.

We lost our next swim meet to the Snapping Piranhas. Dad promised yet again that he'd show up, but he didn't (surprise, surprise).

During the next weeks, we had practices and Meets. Dad kept breaking his promises, both helping us learn how to hunt, and going to our Meets. A couple times, he even missed dinner, so he had to have it himself (which is usually when my siblings and I all were in bed, and one time, _all _of us). Seems like lately, Dad had to go off with Ralf doing who knows what, rather than being with us. Sometimes I wonder of he knew if we even existed anymore.

Then the championship came around. Today we go up against the Dynamite Crocs, an all-crocodile team. Dad went with us to where it was being held, and I was happy. Is Dad finally going to see us all in action?

When we were there, our parents wished us luck, and my siblings and I all hustled to be with our friends.

When I was doing my warm-ups with Cody and Malcolm, I scanned the audience to make sure Mom and Dad were there. I frowned when I saw only Mom cheering me on in the loud cheering audience. I sighed; I should have known. Dad has abandoned us again. I stopped my warm-ups.

"I-I can't this." I admitted to my friends. They both stopped, and looked at me.

"_Why_?" Cody wanted to know. "How come?" He looked at the audience, then back at me. "Is it because of your Dad not being here?" I nodded sadly.

"Yes!"

_"Perry_," Malcolm spoke. He held my shoulders. "This excuse is getting lame! _Forget_ your Dad! This is the championship," He shook them. _"championship_!" He stopped. "We gone this far, and we're _not_ going to chicken out because of a fan not showing up. That's _his _loss, not yours. Come on Perry, we're this close at winning the blue ribbon," He shook them again. "this_ close_!" He stopped again. Forget your Dad; we have a tournament to win!" I gasped, and stepped back from him and Cody.

"What do you mean?" I wanted to know. "How can you say that Malcolm? I _can't _forget; he's my dad! He's my _family_! You guys have both of your parents watching like all the others, plus there are relatives, but all that my siblings and I get is our Mom! Let's face it; he hates me." I looked sad at the ground.

"That's not _true _Perry!" Cody informed me. "Your father _loves _you."

_"Yeah_!" Malcolm added. "Your father loves you _tons!_"

"Then why doesn't he come to out meets?" I asked. "Why not the last one, the championship especially?" My friends shrugged. I looked sad at the ground again. Cody put his hands around me.

"_Perry,_" He started. "All parents love their children no matter what. Sure, they want to support their kids by going to their sport games, plays, or in this case, meets. But like us, they aren't perfect. Try as they might, they can't make it every time. What I'm trying to say, Perry, is that no matter how badly he wants to be here, rooting you on; he has other plans. It doesn't mean he hates you or your siblings, he's just busy. He loves you and always will." I looked at him.

"You really think so?"

_"Think so_? I _know_ so! Perry, I bet you're making you dad proud no matter what!"

_"Wow, that's..that's_…"

"Utterly _pathetic_!" Said a voice. We all turned to see who it was. It was Alex, the Dynamite Croc's star player. Beside him were his friends. We all glared at him as he and his friends made his way towards us, and stopped when he was by us.

"What do _you_ want Alex?" Malcolm wanted to know.

"I have come to inform you all," he bragged. "that _both_ of my parents are here, _plus _several of my relatives!"

"We don't care." Cody said. "They're allowed to be here."

"And it's not like my father is too busy doing who knows what!" He leaned into my face. "Because unlike you, I make my dad happy. What about _you_? Do you make you father happy Perry loser?" He stepped away. I gritted my teeth; Alex was really getting on my nerves.

"Poor Perry; your father is probably not here because he's ashamed of you." My friends gasped.

_That did it_! I was about to go beat him up when my friends held me back.

_"Perry, don't_!" My friends cried, holding me back.

"Don't you _dare _say that about my father!" I barked at him. "My father _loves _me like every parent should, and you _know _it!" I growled in the pit of my throat.

"_Whoa,_ take it easy Pers! If you father comes, and he sees his son fighting, he'll be real disappointed in you."

He and his friends laughed as they all went to get prepared for the race. My friends let me go. I began to wonder. Was what Alex said _true_? Am I a disgrace to my father?

"Don't listen to Alex." Cody told me. "He doesn't know what he's talking about."

_"Yeah!"_ Malcolm added. "Alex is nothing but a bully. What he's saying is baloney. It's not true, none of it is."

"Come on Perry, let's just forget about it, and get ready for the race." I was still angry at Alex.

"Come on Perry." Cody urged. _"Forget_ about it; it's all behind us." I sighed, and decided that he was right. I know my father is not ashamed of me. He's just not here to cheer me on, that's all. No biggie. I followed my friends to the starting line.

The rules were simple. Each team member would swim down and back as fast as they could. Once they were back, the next team member goes, and does the exact same thing. The winner depends on the very last team member. Whoever reaches the other side first, that team wins!

We had to line up to see who was going when. I was last in my group.

"_And now_…" The announcer (who was a crab) boomed from his mike. "The Relay Championship game between the Mighty Platypus Vs the Dynomite Crocs!" Everyone cheered.

"Are you ready to lose Perry Loser?" Alex taunted me. I smiled at him.

"Oh we'll see who'll lose Alex." I told him, as the first team members got ready. "We're see."

"On you marks!" The announcer said. "Get set, _go!"_

When the whistle blew, and the first members started, I looked at the other team's lineup. My eyes scanned the whole line, and then stopped dead when they saw a certain crocodile; it was Alex!

_Great!_ I have to race against swift speedy Alex! I wasn't worried through. I can easily defeat him, even with both of my arms tied behind my back and I'm blindfolded; easy peasy!

Alex saw me, pulled down his eyelid with his claw, and stuck his tongue out at me. I did the same thing with my hand. We both stopped when we had to move up.

Finally, our turns were up. We walked to the starting line, and waited until our teammates were completely done.

"I'll beat you Perry!" Alex threatened at me. "After this is over and you lose, you'll be running off crying to your daddy, oh, I mean, _mommy_!" He snickered.

"Oh _yeah!"_ I challenged. "I think it'll be _you_ that'll run home crying to your mama, not me! I can easily win without my dad; all I need is to believe that I can."

_"We'll see!" _

When our teammates were done, we jumped into the water, bolted off, and gained speed as we went. Mixtures of cheering could be heard, one cheering for our team, and the other for the opposing team.

When I swam all the way down, I turned back, and swam back. My teammates and our fans cheered me on as I went. I could hear my heart pounding in my chest as I moved in the water.

Suddenly, Alex's voice echoed in my head. "Your father's probably is not here because he is ashamed of you." I could also hear him and his friends laughing.

I then stopped, halfway. What am I doing? I don't want to win, not without my dad here, not if he's ashamed of me. He needs to be here cheering my team on with Mom, where was he! I can't win knowing he hates me, there's no way; I just can't!

I then heard my teammates and fans booing, wondering what the heck I was doing floating there.

I shook it off. _No_! I _have_ to finish this race no matter what. My fans are _counting _on me, and I can't let down my team when we came this far. I_ can't_ quit now!

I then saw Alex nearing the finishing line. I then found all of my strength, began swimming at top speed.

Alex and I were neck and neck now! This was it; win or lose, it all depends on me!

I swam with all of my might and…jumped out of the water first at the finish line! My teammates all cheered for me. The fans jumped out of their seats, applauding. I had won the race for my team; the Mighty Platypus had won because of me! I heard Alex mutter in frustration.

When I saw Alex next to his friends when the tournament, was over, I called out to him. I was walking with my friends.

"Hey, nice work Alex!" I congratulated him. "Better luck next time." Alex looked at me.

"You were lucky this time Perry loser." He said. "It's a shame your father didn't see it."

"_Yeah."_ I agreed. He laughed a little.

"It's a wonder why your father is a wuss." I began to get angry with him again. Malcolm and Cody held me back from a possible fight.

"My father is _not _a wuss!" I yelled. _"Take it back_!"

"Oh _yeah_? Then why isn't he here supporting you Perry, _why_?" I hesitated. I didn't know the answer.

"I'll tell you why, your daddy doesn't love you; doesn't believe that you can win. Your father is a no good coward and chicken." I bared my teeth at him.

"No he's not! My dad loves me from the bottom of his heart!"

"Oh that's nice! I wonder why you still say that even after your father _betrayed _you."

"My father didn't betray me_; that's a lie_!"

"Oh he _didn't_?" He leaned way into me. "You're the biggest loser I met then. You are a disgrace, and your father will always be ashamed of you. Why, I bet if you die before he does, your father wouldn't even come to your funeral because he hates you so much." He laughed as he went.

_That was it!_ I prevented my friends from holding me back, and lunged towards Alex. Alex looked as I pinned him to the ground. He screamed.

_"Help, help_!" He yelped. "Perry is going to hurt me! Coach, Mom, Dad, anybody, _HELP!" _His friends gasped in shock. My friends did the same thing.

"Stop _harassing _me!" I commanded him. "_Stop_ saying mean things about my father; you don't even know him!"

I was about to punch him in the jaw when I felt someone lifting me off of him. I looked up, it was Ms. Aqua. There beside her were the Dynamite Croc's coach, Mrs. Slaws, his parents I assumed, my siblings all scared and confused, wondering what the heck I was doing, and my Mom.

"No fighting children." Mss. Aqua said. "Let's be friends here." I looked at Mom, and gave her a 'do I have to' face." Mom looked back at me, she didn't look happy.

"_Perry!_" She scolded. "What do you say?"

"_But Mom_!" I protested. "You don't know what he said about Dad; he said some mean things about him. Why should_ I_ apologize? _He _should apologize to _me,_ no_, all_ of us! It's _his _fault; not mine!" Mom gave me a stern look.

"Perry, apologize, _now_!" I looked at her, and sighed. There was no way to argue with Mom when she was angry. I looked at my siblings who were all shocked of what I have just done. I looked at Alex, whose parents were comforting him.

"I'm sorry Alex." I told him, but didn't mean it. I looked back at Mom. "There, I said it. _Happy?"_

_"Perry,"_ Mom started. "That was a very _naughty_ thing you did. Your father would be really disappointed in you."

"My _father!_ ? My _father_! _Open_ your eyes Mom! He _never_ shows up; he's _already_ disappointed in me; he always has been!" Mom then went to comfort me.

"_Awe Perry_; you know that's not true. Your father loves you; you know that."

_"No_ he doesn't; he_ hates_ me, and always will!"

"_Awe Perry_!" She was about to give me a hug when I resented.

"_No!_ Leave me _alone_!" I ran off to home.

"_Perry_!" I heard my Mom call behind me. I didn't look back.

When I neared home, I saw Dad. He came to hug me.

"How's my son? Did he and his siblings win?" He wanted to know. I gave him an evil look.

"YOU ARE _NOT_ MY FATHER!" I shouted at him. He looked hurt, but I didn't care. I just kept running to the burrow.

Meredith stepped in my path. I tried to get past; but she didn't let me.

"_Move Mer!"_ My sister looked at me, scared and confused looking.

"Why are you so mad Perry?" She asked. "_Why?_" I didn't answer; I just pushed her to the ground, and continued to run.

I heard my sister crying, and Mom comforting her, and then my Dad spoke to Mom.

"No Lisa." I heard him say. _"I'll_ handle this." I then heard him following me, and calling my name. I was too upset to stop and listen.

I ran and ran, and stopped where I slept in the corner of the burrow. I punched the wall in anger, turned around, went down on my knees, and cried, hands in my lap.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_"Perry!"_ I heard my dad shout, coming into our burrow. "_Perry! Per_…oh there you are son." He saw me, tears streaming down my face as I sniffed and wiped them away sadly.

"What do you want?" I managed to say.

"I came to see if my son's all right!" Dad answered. "Is there something wrong son?"

"No." I sniffed, wiping away a tear. "I'm fine."

_"Really_? It sure doesn't look like it. I mean, you pushed your younger sister. That was an extremely unruly thing you did Perry."

"_Yeah?_ Well, she was _asking _for it! She _annoys _me Dad, _constantly,_ _everyday! _Sometimes I wish I had no brother and sisters, and that I was an only child."

"But she's _your _younger sister Perry. _You_ are the eldest brother; _you_ got to be a positive role model for her, and for all of your siblings. Look, I may not be around much longer, and when the time comes, you got to be responsible and take charge. You got to take care of your brother and sisters, and your mum. I need you to do this for me Perry, can you?" I sniffed.

_"Yeah_, I'll try."

"Good. First, you need to say sorry to your sister for pushing her like that. I'm really disappointed you did that son."

There was silence. I decided to break it after a while by a subject change. I looked at Dad, still teary eyed.

_"Dad?"_ I finally asked. "Why do you hate me?" My dad looked at me like I completely lost it.

_"Hate you_?" He wanted to know. "I don't hate you! How can I? You are my son. I love you all from the bottom of my heart. I can never hate you. Where did you get that ridiculous idea from anyway?"

"Well, you didn't come to any of my games, you never are around when we need you, and you act like we don't exist anymore. Dad, do you know how that makes me _feel_?" My dad looked into my sad eyes.

"Son, I'm _sorry_!"

"No you're _not_; you're not sorry. You hate us."

"No I don't Perry." I began to argue.

"Oh _yeah_?" I shouted at him. "Then why are you never around, _huh_? You _never _support us dad! Why didn't you watch our swim meets, championship, or go hunting with us? _Huh?_ Explain that!"

"Son, I try. Believe me I try with all my might to be with you all and your mum, but I'm really busy."

"That's what you _always_ say! "I'm super busy" I'm _sick_ of it Dad! Sick of you not telling us, we would like to know! What is it that's preventing you to be with your loved ones? Why are you busy all the time? Answer me that!"

"Wish I could son; wish I could, but it's complicated."

_"What's_ complicated_?_ _Come on Dad_! I can take it! What do you do?"

Dad just looked at me, and sighed. He couldn't keep it a secret any more. I had to know; I just _had _to!

He cleared his throat, and was about to talk when all of a sudden, we heard Meredith's shrill shriek. My dad bolted up from his spot.

_"_Later son!" He then rushed off out of the burrow. I sighed and stood up.

"Just when things were turning good." I talked to myself, walking out. "This better be good or I swear I'll kill…" My eyes grew wide as I poked my head out of the burrows at what I saw. The sun was setting now behind the trees.

My younger sister has gotten herself in a tight grasp of a large Anaconda! Beside him were the snake's friends. They were grinning evilly. My mother, brother, and my other sisters were there too, looking shocked, and stood in standstills, scared and not knowing what to do.

_"DAD_!" Meredith screamed. "_HELP ME!"_

"Let my daughter go Percival!" My father ordered the anaconda.

I was shocked. I looked at my mom and siblings, the news shocked them as well. Dad _knew_ these anacondas?

The one named Percival laughed.

_"Ha; Never_!" He said. "I followed you here from your previous mission with the baby koalas. My boss was going to get a huge paycheck because of it. Now, I came for revenge."

I was confused. _Mission? __What_ mission, and what was a paycheck? Also his _boss_? What was up with that? What was this crazed snake _talking _about? I was pondering this when he spoke again.

"Anyways, your little daughter ssshell be a fine supper for ussss." Percival held Meredith to his mouth. He opened his jaws wide, ready to swallow her in one gulp. Meredith screamed again.

_"HELP DAD_!" she yelled terrified. Dad lunged towards Percival, forcing him to drop my sister.

I ran up beside her with mom and my brother and sisters. Mom comforted her.

"You okay?" She asked. Meredith, looking terrified, nodded.

_"Uh-huh_!"

We then looked, and watched the brawl between my father and Percival.

_"_Mom, what's going on?" Meredith wanted to know. "Will Dad win? Can he defeat that no-good snake?"

"Hopefully dear." Mom replied, keeping her close. I looked at the fight.

Suddenly, Percival threw Dad off with his tail. Dad went sailing, and landed on the ground. He tried to get up but couldn't. Percival slithered towards him.

We all gasped as he lifted his tail, ready for the final blow.

"Poor Michal. Time to meet your doom!" He then laughed evilly with his friends.

I don't know what came over me, but suddenly I found my courage and attacked the large anaconda. The snake screamed at the sudden attack.

_"NOOOOOOO_!" I screamed. "Stop attacking my dad!"

Percival threw me off. My parents and siblings gasped as I hit the ground. I rubbed my head. Percival looked at me.

_"Foolish_ child!" He hissed, and then went back to my hurt dad.

"Your son has the same determination as you." He told him. "That's sssoooo _ssssweeet_! It's a sssshame that you can't stay with him and the ressst of your family!" He then slapped Dad with his tail. Dad fell down.

_"Dad_!" I shouted, stood up, and ran to him. I looked over him. "Dad?" Percival and his chums laughed.

"Your dad's dying kid!" He said. "You dad will be no longer soon!" He and his friends snickered.

My dad coughed, and opened his eyes. I smiled.

"_Dad! You're alive_!"

"Perry, my son." He spoke softly, coughing again. "You are a great kid. I could never be so proud."

"Dad, what do you _mean?_"

"It's time to be strong my son. You can do it, I believe in you."

_"Dad, dad_!"

"I…love…you…son." He then closed his eyes, and just lay there motionless; not getting up. I tried to shake him awake.

_"Dad!"_ I shouted. _"Dad, dad_!" I stopped, tears developing in my eyes. "_Dad?"_

Percival and his chums laughed again. I looked at my mom and siblings. They all had tears in their eyes too. I turned back to face my dad's body, and broke out crying.

"Poor platypussss." Percival hissed as I kept crying. "Poor, pathetic platypussss. Do you miss your dad platypussss? Huh, do you?" He laughed. I looked at him.

"You _monster_!" I shouted at him. "You killed my father!" He laughed again. I stood up, picked a stone, and threw it at him as hard as I could.

It hit him in the eye! He looked at me, mad.

"Care to do that again platypussss?" He slithered towards me. I backed up, and lost my balance. I backed up on the ground, and picked up another stone. I was about to throw it at him a second time, when he lunged at me with his jaws wide.

I dropped it as we both sailed, and splashed into the swamp.

_"PERRY_!" My family cried out. They and the snakes came to watch our brawl in the swamp.

We fought and fought. Percival then disappeared under the water. I looked, and looked but couldn't find him.

I started to swim back when I thought Percival was done for. My family cheered.

I was almost there, when suddenly something grabbed my leg. My family gasped, as I tried to pull away. But it was no use, it was too strong, so it pulled me down into the swamp.

In the swamp I looked to see who dragged me down, it was Percival! His tail had a tight grip around my right foot. I tried frantically to swim up, but no matter what, he kept preventing me from doing so.

Now platypuses can stay underwater for ten minutes, but that's if we were underneath some object due to our natural buoyancy, otherwise its two minutes.

Since I wasn't underneath something, I had to get to the surface, and _fast!_ I couldn't, and so I closed my eyes, waiting for the end.

_"Perry_?" I heard my mom ask over me. I opened my eyes; the world was all a blur. "Perry, are you all right?" I sat up and blinked, the world coming back to me now crystal clear. I sat on the ground. I looked at my mom and siblings who all looked worried. It was completely dark out now.

"Perry, are you _okay_?" Mom asked again. I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm okay." I told her. Mom then hugged me, she was crying.

"I thought I lost you." She wept.

"No, I'm fine." I said, smiling.

I looked around. Percival was on land again with his chums. I looked back at Mom. She looked at me.

"I saved you." She said. "I went in after you, and saved you from Percival." I smiled.

"Thanks Mom."

"Don't mention it dear."

"You're lucky you have a mom_ this_ time platypussss!" Percival hissed. "But next time, you won't be so lucky." He and his friends laughed. Mom released me then.

"Oh _yeah_?" Andy threatened, and threw a stone at him. Percival growled in his throat. "You'll never get us. Not with mom around; _never!_"

Percival faked lunged at him. Abby and Amy held him back.

"We'll ssssoon _ssssee_ about that!" He and his friends slithered off. Andy dropped his stone onto the ground, terrified.

"We'll come again mama platypusssss!" Percival promised. "We'll come, and next time, we'll _kill_ your entire family!" He and his friends laughed as they disappeared into the distance.

My sisters and Andy ran to Dad's side.

"What are we going to do mom?" Abby asked. "Dad's dead, what are we going to do?" Mom looked at the stars in the sky. She hesitated and sighed.

"Move." She announced.

_"What?"_ We all wanted to know, looking at her. She turned around, and looked serious.

"We're going to move."

"Where to?" Meredith asked.

"Don't know, far from here, _far _from Percival and his clowns as possible."

"But why can't we stay here?" Andy asked puzzled. He stood up, and posed in a fighting position. "It's just Percival and his chums, we outnumber them easily. We can take them!" He then fell down. "_Whoa!"_

"It'll be too risky honey. You heard Percival; he made an oath to kill us all. It's too dangerous." Andy stood back up, brushing himself off.

"We can take the risk!"

_"No!_ No we can't; we're moving and that's that."

_"But…but_…"

"No buts." She looked at the round bright moon in the sky, then back at us. "We'll move first thing in the morning after we say good by to your teacher and friends. Now, come on."

We all wanted to protest, but didn't. We followed Mom instead. I looked at Mom. What has _happened? _I never seen her _this_ worried before. Something had happened all right. We wouldn't be doing this if it didn't.

I looked at the swamp one last time, and quivered. I was now terrified of going in. Never again would I submerge underwater, never again.

I then turned back, and followed my mom, brothers, and sisters into the burrow.

Tomorrow, we would leave our burrow, and move someplace else. Somewhere where Percival and his goonies wouldn't find us. Someplace far away. But the question is, where to?


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4

"I-I can't believe you're really moving." Malcolm said to me when I told my friends the news the next day at practice (where I'm not practicing anymore).

_"Yeah_." I agreed. "Neither can I."

"It's that snake's fault; you shouldn't have to go!"

"Can't you just stay _here?_" Cody asked. I shook my head sadly.

"Sorry, no, I can't. Mom made it real clear. She's dead serous about this."

"Well we're sure going to miss you Perry. You were an awesome friend."

_"Yeah Perry_!" Malcolm added. "You were the best friend that a platypus could have!" I smiled.

"Thanks guys. And we'll always be friends forever, right!"

_"You bet_!" Cody agreed. "Wherever you go, we'll always be the three amigos!"

"Always and forever." Malcolm added, and then we all hugged. We then withdrew from each other when satisfied.

"You know what stinks?" Cody asked.

"That friends have to leave, and there's nothing you can do about it but let that friend go?" Malcolm guessed.

"Yeah." Cody agreed. "But also…" He took out the football. "We just found out the real rules to American Football yesterday, and now we can't play with Perry." I looked confused at him.

"You mean, the way we were playing before wasn't the right way to play?" I wanted to know. "We were playing it wrong?"

"Well, we weren't really playing a game. We forgot to have someone throw the ball down when they made a touchdown, give positions like quarterbacks, "hikes", and stuff like that. What we were doing was catch."

"Well, what's a touchdown? What's a quarterback? What's 'hike'?" Cody shrugged.

_"Beats me_! Humans have to play complicated I guess."

"I guess!"

_"Perry honey_." Mom told me. "Children, it's time to go!"

"Well, I got to go." I informed my friends. "See ya!" I went to where Mom was and my siblings who said good bye to their friends.

_"Bye!"_ Our friends all said, waving.

"You won't forget us now right?" Cody asked. "You can't forget about your best friend."

"What about _me?_" Malcolm demanded, nudging him.

_"I won't_!" I promised. "You guys are the best, _bye_!" Cody looked back, and continued to wave.

"_Bye!_" They chanted.

"We'll always be BFFs Perry!" Cody hollered.

"What are BFFs?" He shrugged.

"Don't know; sounded cool to me when I heard how a kid human described another kid human the same age on the kiddie playground." We just waved again.

When I reached Coach, she stuck out her hand. I looked at it, and shook it with mine.

_"Well Perry_," She told me. "It's been nice knowing you, it's a shame you won't be here next season. Keep swimming and doing you best and you'll always go far. You'll always be a Mighty Platypus Perry, always, your siblings too; bye!"

I wasn't sure I agree on the swimming part but I let it go.

"_Bye_!" I said. We withdrew hands, and she let me go. I went after Mom and my siblings. I then turned back. They were still waving and saying their goodbyes.

I smiled, and waved one last time. When I was done, I followed my mother and siblings.

We walked, and we walked to who know's where, until we reached our destination.

"What _is_ this place Mom?" Meredith yelled over the roars of some wing monsters. We were all in an open space of some very loud vehicles with wings.

"I don't really know!" Mom shouted back. "But one of these beasts will be our transportation."

"What do you mean transportation?" Amy hollered. "Transportation to where?"

"Don't know; now come on children! Follow me!" We all followed Mom to where one of the flying beasts was parked, battling the wind as we went. A door was open on the beast's side.

"_Now, jump in_!" Mom told us as we all gathered around. We looked in. There were boxes and bigger colored rectangular boxes with handles to pull on and such, everywhere! We looked back at Mom.

"Are you _crazy _Mom?" Abby asked her. "We can't stay in there; we don't know where we are going! How can we all go if you have no _idea _where we're going_, huh?_ We could be going to someplace bad."

"_Shhh_ babies," Mom whispered. "Just jump in."

_"But mom_…"

"Just jump in!"

Abby didn't have to ask twice, we just followed Mom's orders, and jumped in. Mom jumped in after us.

"Okay, now come on!" We followed her, and hid behind some boxes.

_"Mom_, what are we doing?" Meredith wanted to know. "Why are we hiding behind all of these boxes?"

_"Shhh_!" Mom shushed her. "Not now baby, not now."

_"But Mom_…"

Suddenly a human came, and shut the door, locking us in. We all scurried to the locked door. Andy tried to lift the door up, but failed.

"It's locked." He informed us. "I can't get it open."

"We're doomed." Amy said.

Suddenly, there was a jolt. We all tumbled down and got up. It felt like we were moving even though our feet were all firmly on the floor.

"What's _happening?"_ Abby asked.

There was a moment of silence, and then a voice from nowhere broke it. It said welcome aboard and stuff. We looked around to see where this voice was coming from. We couldn't find anybody; the voice seemed to come from an unknown source.

"What's _happening_?" Amy questioned. "Where is this monster _taking_ us? Where is that mysterious voice coming from?"

_"Shhhhh!_" Mom said. There was silence again. We all explored the inside of the monster.

Again suddenly, the monster was gaining speed. We all were forced to tumble backwards. We would probably have rolled further and hit the back if Mom hadn't caught all of us in time. The monster rumbled loudly. We all placed our hands tightly on the sides of our heads where our ears would be, and closed our eyes tightly.

_"Ugh_!" Amy complained. "What is that awful sound? It's hurting my eardrums!"

"Make it _stop_ Mom!" Meredith wailed. She then sounded like she was about to cry. "_Make it stop_!"

"Wish I could sweetie," Mom told her over the noise. "Wish I could."

"When will it stop?" Abby shouted.

"It will hopefully stop_...eventually_." We continued like that for a while.

Then we felt a lift, like it had taken flight. We re-opened our eyes, and sighed heavenly, bringing our hands down back to our sides. The loudness was over.

"_Finally!"_ Amy said. "The loudness is over; it lasted like forever!"

"Same here." Abby added.

"_Mom_?" Meredith wanted to know. Mom looked at her. "Why did the mean monster do what it did? What happened; where are we going?"

"Who knows," Mom admitted. "As long as we're going far away from Percival and his lackeys, that's all that counts right now." Andy turned to a nearby window, and gasped with amazement, putting his hands on the glass.

_"Guys_!" He shouted, _"Come here_!" We all came to see what Andy was looking at. "Look at all of the neat stuff out there." We all squinted to see. We couldn't see much; the clouds and blue sky were in the way. What was he talking about?

_"Andy_!" Merideth whined. "I can't see _anything!_ The stupid clouds are in the way!"

"Well, if I open the window, we'll all be goners in seconds due to the wind and the strong turbulence.' Meredith didn't listen.

"I want a closer look!" She pushed Andy aside, and then opened the window. She then stuck her head out.

_"Hey!"_ She cried. "I can see _everything_ from here! I can… _whoa!_" She was then sucked outside. Our eyes all widened.

_"MERIDETH_!" We all yelled with fear. She held onto the edge of the wing, trying desperately to keep her grip.

"_MOM_!" She screamed. _"MOM_!" Meredith screamed again, sounding terrified. "_Please, HELP ME!"_

"_MERIDETH_!" My siblings and Mom cried at once.

"_HELP_!"

I then knew what I had to do! I crawled out, careful not to fall off.

"_Perry!"_ Mom cried. "What are you _doing_? It's _dangerous_ out there! Come back at once!"

"I'm going to save Meredith!" I went to where my screaming sister was, trying hard not to fall off. My family kept calling to me to come back, but I didn't listen; I was determined! I went to where my sister was, and stood up slowing, trying to maintain my balance.

I then saw a human kid looking at me from the window in the distance, I smiled at him. He then turned his head to talk to his mom. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I assumed he was telling his mom that they were two platypuses on the wing. Well, one on the wing actually, and another trying to hold onto the side for dear life. The mom looked like she didn't believe her son. The son then looked disappointed. I went back into reality when I heard my sister's scream again.

"I'm _slipping!"_ My sister cried. I held onto my sister's hands as she was about to fall.

_"MER_!" I called to her over the wind. "Don't let go, or look down; I got you!" Meredith looked down and screamed. She turned back to me.

"I looked down Perry!" She sobbed. "_I'm sorry_!" She began to cry.

"Just _don't_ let go!" I yelled. She sniffed.

"I'll try." She wept.

I pulled and pulled with all of my strength, and dug in my heels.

_"DON'T…LET…GO!" _I then pulled her all the way, and she flew back to where my mom and siblings were. I smiled as they were rejoiced they had Meredith back as they all hugged her each.

Then the wind blew me off balance. I almost fell off but hung onto the wing. My family gasped as I struggled to get back up. I was in the same spot my sister was 10 seconds ago.

_"PERRY_!" I heard my family scream. I kept trying to get up, but it was no use. I just couldn't get up.

I looked down, and gulped. It was a 100 or so feet up from the ground! I tried, and tried, but just couldn't do it. I stopped trying. It was no use. I was going to die and join my dad in platypus heaven.

I sighed, and squeezed my eyes tightly, waiting for my life to be kaput. The shouts of my mom and siblings were faint now as I waited for it to all be over.

Suddenly, I heard Dad's voice in my head, "It's time to be strong my son. I know you can. I believe in you."

I then was serious and renewed my strength. Dad may be dead, but his determination and blood still runs in my veins. I can't let him down. My siblings, my mom, and my dad are all counting on me; I can't disappoint!

I pulled myself up and up. Suddenly I was completely on the flying monster. Mom sighed with relief. My siblings were glad that I was okay.

I felt dizzy. My head was spinning! I staggered right and left until I collapsed in the monster and my family caught me.

I went back to reality and Mom kissed me on the head.

"Glad that you're okay." She said. I smiled at her. My siblings all hugged me.

"What's Usa?" Meredith asked when the monster landed in another open lot. There was a sign outside that read: "Welcome to the USA" in bold black letters.

"I don't know." Mom confessed. "But as long as it is far away from Percival and his group, we're staying. Now, _come on!"_ Mom jumped off. We did the same, and followed her.

"Where are we _going?"_

_"Shhh!_ Somewhere."

We have been walking for hours and yet, with no signs of stopping. Meredith's stomach growled.

"I'm _hungry!_" My little sister whined. "And I'm _thirsty!_ Can we stop?"

"My legs are _killing _me." Amy complained. "We need to stop and rest!"

"_Sorry_!" Mom told us still walking. "We need to keep going!" We all groaned.

"Can't we just stay here?" Andy wanted to know. "I mean, how much farther do we have to go?"

"_Yeah_!" We all said.

"_Come on Mom_!" Abby urged. Mom hesitated, and then spoke.

"_Okay_," she told us. "Wait here. I'm going to see if there's anything close by." She went off again. All of us stayed put, and groaned again.

Moments later, Mom returned. We all stood to listen to what she had to say.

"I have found a nice vacant burrow for us to stay in." She informed us. We all cheered to ourselves. "And not only that, but a swim meet close by with platypuses." My siblings cheered. I was now transfixed to the ground.

Oh _great!_ I had to go to a swimming class when I vowed never to go swimming again. How am I going to explain this to mom?

I opened my mouth to say I didn't want to go, but then closed it when I decided not to. Mom and my siblings were all talking about how exciting it will be, and that we'll make new friends; I didn't want to interrupt and tell her that I didn't want to go because I was afraid of the water. What kind of platypus is afraid to swim? This was her and Dad's _dream_, to teach us how to swim. I can't just quit on them because of my new phobia. So, I kept my mouth shut and kept it to myself.

"Well_, come on_!" She said. We followed her as she lead us to a nearby lake and grassy area.

Mom was _right_! There were platypuses all around that were the same ages as us. There was also a swimming coach with a whistle around her neck, and a clipboard. It was like we never left home. Why was that? Weren't platypuses native only in Australia?

The coach saw us, and went to greet us.

_"Hello_!" She said cheerfully. "I am Ms. Aquabee, and I am the swim coach for The Fearless Platypuses. Pleased to meet you." She stuck out her hand to shake. Mom grabbed it, and shook hands with the teacher. They then withdrew their hands when done.

"Ms. Aquabee?" Meredith asked. "Like Miss Aqua?"

"Ms. Aqua is my sister." My sister's jaw dropped.

"_Nuh- uh!"_ Coach nodded.

"_Yup;_ she is! Anyways, are you children going to enroll? They can start today if you want."

"Oh, that would be _lovely!_" Mom told her.

"Arighty then, I just need all of your names, then we're good to go!"

As soon as we were done introducing ourselves, Mom told us to make some friends and be good and listen to Coach to what she has to say. We promised. She then told us that'll she'll find a good home for us during our class time. We all said goodbye to her, and each gave her a hug, and she gave us all a kiss on our heads. Mom then talked to Coach as we made our way to try to make some new friends.

Just like last time, all of my siblings made friends just three minutes after introducing ourselves. Me, you guessed it, nothing!

There was simply no one that could replace great friends like Malcolm and Cody. I began to wonder, why did we leave Australia in the first place? I know we left because of Percival, but why did we leave my friends? Why couldn't they tag along with us? That way, I didn't have to waste my time looking for new one. I'll have my old ones; I was just in a new place with strangers.

Suddenly, I heard a voice.

"_Hello!"_ The voice greeted. I turned; there stood two platypuses.

"I'm Mac!" The first one said.

"And I'm Matt." The second one added. "Mac told me to come and welcome you. So, what's your name?"

"Perry." I answered.

"Perry; I like that name, Perry, it suits you fine." I smiled.

"_Thanks_!"

"Don't mention it; you want to play tag?"

"_Sure;_ I'll love to play, but first, why are platypuses here? This is not Australia."

"Yeah, we were originally from Australia, and then the humans all dragged us here, and transported us to an exotic pet shop."

"What happened to it?' I wanted to know.

"The pet shop people had to let all of us go."

"Why didn't you go back to Australia?"

"We didn't know the way back, so we stayed here. The adults developed this class to teach us the ways of the real world. It'll help us survive in the future when we have to leave our parents to live on our own." He then changed the subject.

"Anyways, you can be 'it' first in our game of tag. Ready, set_, go_!" They raced off. I chased after them trying to tag them out. I could see that Mom has left now.

We played a few rounds until the coach whistled us in. We went to where she was and sat in a circle around her. The coach talked about stuff similar to what Mss. Aqua said on our first day. She told us that all of us were like a family, and we all have to cooperate and support each other when needed.

Then she let everyone introduce themselves. I now knew everyone on the team right and then!

Class then started. We started with warm-ups.

When it came time for swimming, I told my new friends about my new water phobia.

"That's _silly!"_ Matt informed me. "A platypus afraid of _water? Yeah, right_; give me a _break_!"

"_Yeah_," I agreed with a laugh. "Talk about awkward!"

I still wasn't sure about swimming, but I gave it a shot.

I stayed in the shallow end near the shore most of the time. The coach wasn't too happy though. Everytime she just saw me there, she just shook her head, wrote something down on her clipboard, and moved on.

After class, we were waiting for our parents. In the meantime, we talked with our friends.

Suddenly, something caught my eye. I saw the back of an anaconda head. I leaned to get a closer look. It couldn't be who I thought it was, could it? My friends wondered.

what I was looking at.

"_Perry_?" Mac said to me. "What are you looking at?" I then went back to reality.

"Oh nothing." I lied. "It's nothing."

But, I had seen something! I looked again, and saw two more backs of anaconda heads following the first. I shook my head. _No, no_! My eyes are playing _tricks _on me. Yeah, they're playing tricks.

The first anaconda turned a corner, and then I froze as I saw who it was. The two other anacondas turned as well as they headed towards our class. I couldn't believe it.

It was Percival and his lackeys! They had followed us here all the way from Australia! I stayed frozen for a while.

"_Perry?_" Mac wanted to know. "Are you all _right?"_ My friends looked at each other with confused looks. Then, Matt brandished his hand in front of my face.

"_Yoo-hoo_!" He called. _"Perry_; earth to _Perry,_ are you all right? _Come in Perry!"_ He looked at Mac. "We lost him Mac." Mac just shrugged.

I went back to reality when I heard shrill screams. I sprang into action, and ran towards where the screams were coming from. My friends ran after me.

Before I even turned the corner, I had a feeling who caused the screams. I was right!

It was _Percival!_ He stuck out his tongue at my siblings and classmates. They all looked terrified. He chuckled to himself. Beside him were his buddies. He made a circle around my siblings.

"Where is your twerpy brother?" He asked. "Are you going to tell me, or do I have to go to drastic measssures?"

"We'll never talk!" Meredith shouted at him. "_Never!"_

"Very well." He opened his mighty jaws, and lunged at my siblings. My brother and sisters shielded themselves, ready for the end.

Suddenly, I picked up a stone, and threw it at the anaconda. It hit his eye. He growled in his throat and turned around. When he noticed it was me, he grinned wickedly. He slithered towards me.

"Well, if it isn't the platypusssss that defended his daddy?" He hissed. "How sweet! I was looking for you."

"Yeah, I know." I told him. Then I looked serious. "Look Percival! If you want my mom and siblings, you're have to go through me!" Percival chucked.

"How lovely! You have the same determination as your father. Like father, like son! Too bad I'll have to kill you." He wrapped his huge body around me. Everyone gasped, including my friends.

"Well, what are you going to do platypusssss, huh? What are you going to do?"

I then panicked. He's right, what am I going to do? What would my father would have done? I never knew I'll get this far. I'm just a kid, I'm not my dad! What to do, what to do?

"_Nothing_? Alrighty then?" He opened his jaws, and headed towards my head. My classmates and siblings all gasped again. I gulped as I looked at Percival's massive jaws coming towards me. I looked at all of my scared classmates.

Well, this was it! My life is going to end soon, and I couldn't do anything about it! I was going to join my dad in platypus heaven any minute now. I closed my eyes tightly, waiting.

Then I heard a stone hit. Percival dropped me. I fell to the ground, opened my eyes, and looked up. There was Ms. Aquabee, looking serious. Mom was by her side.

"If you want to hurt my students," She said. "You're going to go through me!"

"Oh yeah?" Percival challenged. "You and what army Coach?" He laughed with his friends.

Suddenly, to my surprise, Mac stepped forward. He looked serious.

"No one hurts my friend." He said. "And gets always with it!" Matt stepped forward too.

"And if you hurt both of them," He threatened. "You're going to have to answer to me!"

"_Me too_!" Amy's friend told him

"_Me three!"_ Said Abby's.

Suddenly, the whole class stepped forward, all looking determined. I smiled at my friends. They would all risk their lives just for me? Dad was right; friends were good to have around. I stood up, and stepped towards the snake.

"You're outnumbered Percival." I explained to him. "How are you going to defeat all of us, me and all of my friends?"

Percival then looked defeated.

"_Fine_!" He declared. "You win for _now!_ But _I'll _be back; you're see! And next time, we will kill you and your family!" He turned to his friends. _"Jasper, Randell_! _Come,_ we have work to do!" He then left, his friends following close behind.

"You _better_ go!" Andy shouted after them. "Because when you come back, our family will kick your sorry butts again, and again, and again, and forever until you stop harassing my family!" He pretended to kick their butts, and fell to the ground. We all laughed, Andy stood back up. Mom then looked serious.

"We're moving." She concluded.

"_WHAT_?" We all wanted to know, and looked at her.

"We don't have to." Amy informed her.

"Yes we do." Mom responded. "Since Percival found us, we have no choice, we leave first thing tomorrow."

I looked at my friends. They looked like they begged me to stay. I hesitated, I couldn't believe it; first Malcolm and Cody, and now I have to leave my new friends too all because of Percival? That didn't seem fair. I looked at my mom again.

"Well, let's say goodbye kids." She told us. I finally had the courage to speak.

"_No!"_ I told them. My family all looked at me.

"_Perry,_" Mom began to scold. "I know it's hard, but we have to go. You'll make new friends."

"I don't _want _to make new friends. Mom, don't you see? What if Percival and his chums follow us again, and again, and again until we gone everywhere we possibly can? If we keep running, that'll encourage him more and more! We _got_ to stay here and fight! We got to prove to Percival that we are no cowards, and that we can stand up for ourselves, even when things look bleak. That what's dad would've done. So what do you say? You want to run all your life and be a wimp, or do you want to be strong and fight?" Mom just looked at me.

"But he's too strong sweetie. It's just too dangerous."

"I know he is Mom. But, if we all stand and work _together,_ we can take him and his cronies down! So, what do you say?"

We all looked at Mom for the final decision.

"Well, I don't know."

"Come on Mom, trust me. We can do it." Mom hesitated for a moment, and sighed.

"Perry's right children. We got to stop running, and be strong." We all cheered.

"So, does this mean we're _staying?"_ Meredith asked. Mom smiled, and nodded.

"We're staying." We all cheered again.

_"Yay, all right, yeah_!" She high fived her friends, then they danced in a circle. "We're staying, we're staying, _we're staying!_" Mom chuckled to herself.

I apologized to Meredith the next day when we were hunting about me pushing her. I told her it was immature of me, and that it was wrong.

"Oh, it's okay Perry." She said. "Nobody's perfect, not even big brothers." I smiled, as I patted her head. She then looked at the moon. She turned back to me.

"The moon's _following _us Perry, it's _following_ us!"

I was about to tell her that the moon wasn't following us, and was just there, when I heard my dad's voice inside of my head.

"She's your younger sister Perry." He echoed. "She's your younger sister."

"_Yeah_, your right." I told her, patting her head again. "It is following us." She smiled.

The next few weeks, we got ready for the championships again, we hunted with our Mom, and we won the championship, and got our gold medals. Dad would be so proud.

I still miss him, but I know he's in heaven looking down at us, feeling proud of all of our hard work.

Percival and his chums never came again. I know that they were still scheming on how to get rid of all of us. But when the time comes, we got to be ready and strong, just like my dad.

I felt happy, I had great friends, I'll always will remember my old ones, and best of all, I had a dad who and will always be, proud of me no matter what.


	6. Epilogue

Epilogue

And that is my back-story of my life in Australia before I came to America.

I must've fallen asleep because I then felt someone poking me.

"Agent P." It said. "Agent P, I'm back from Australia." I opened my eyes to see who it was. It was Carl with his suitcases. He waved at me. I yawned.

"Wake up sleepyhead, I'm back!" I went down from my chair. "We need to wake up Monogram now." He then noticed my getup.

"Awe Agent P!" He admired. "You look so cute when you are in your disguises; you know that, don't you?"

I shrugged, and went over to my sleeping boss. Whatever! Let's just wake up sleeping Monogram over here, and hit the road before somebody realizes that I'm just a platypus in disguise.

So, Carl helped me wake Monogram up. It took us several tries, but we did it.

He woke up, and looked around.

"Carl; you're here!" He greeted his intern. He stood up. They were about to shake hands when Monogram decided not to. "So, how was your trip?"

"It was good sir. We saw lots of kangaroos, koalas, crocodiles, snakes, ostriches, dingoes, echidnas, Tasmanian devils, wallabies, and guess what? _Platypuses!_" Monogram looked at his intern in shock, then at me, then back at him.

"_Wow; platypuses Carl?"_ Carl nodded.

"That's correct sir, and so much more!"

_"Wow!"_ My boss looked at me again, then back at Carl.

"So, do you think Agent P _originated _from Australia?" Carl shrugged.

_"Who knows_!" He said. "It is possible!" Monogram took one last look at me, and then walked off.

"_Well, come on_!" He said. "It's getting late; we should get going."

"_Yes sir_!" We then followed him.

"You know sir," Carl spoke about my outfit. "Instead of dressing Agent P in wacky clothes all the time, which is really cute by the way, but why not pretend he's a Seeing Eye platypus?" Monogram stopped, and looked at him; I did the same. Seeing-eye platypus? Did he mean I could've been a seeing-eye platypus instead of this sweaty, awful disguise? I glared up at my boss. He looked down at me.

"Sorry Agent P." He informed. "I didn't know." We then looked at Carl again.

_"Seeing-eye platypus_?" My boss questioned. "What the _heck _is that?"

"You know like Seeing-Eye Dogs for the disabled, but Perry can be the first seeing-eye platypus."

"Are you calling me blind, Carl?"

"_No, no sir!_ I'm just _suggesting_ it, if Agent P doesn't like the outfits we make him wear."

"What makes you think Agent P dislikes the outfits we give him?"

"I don't, but I'm just saying!"

_"Whatever_!" We all began walking again.

"I'm just saying!"

"Carl, _shush!_"

_"But sir…"_

_ "Carl!"_

"_Yes sir._" He held his head in shame.

I felt bad for him. It's like he can almost read my mind (which will be really creepy if he actually did). I _did_ hate the outfits that he and Monogram dressed me in all the time. A Seeing-Eye Platypus doesn't sound too bad actually. At least, that way I don't have to wear these stupid outfits all the time. I like it!

On the car ride home, I took off my outfit, and placed them on the floor. Carl was talking all about his trip to Monogram as he drove. I sat back, relaxed, and listened as Carl reminded me of my home country in Australia.

I missed being an Aussie, but I also love my life here as an Australian-American. I had the life I always dreamed about, a secret agent just like my dad, two great owners, a human family, a nemesis who may be clueless at times, but a great frienemy, a great boss, and his intern, and great friends at the agency. I can never be happier. What more can a platypus ask for?


End file.
